Slow
by Satan's Sweeties
Summary: Sora's sure that Lightning reminds him of someone, but he can't quite figure it out. Very, very, very slight Cloud/Lightning: blink and you'll miss it.


Ever since the new girl had showed up in Hollow Bastion, Cloud had spent most of his time with her, not that it mattered to Aerith anyway; she was just happy to see him doing something other than standing in a corner and giving off 'brooding emo' vibes. His other friends picked up on it too, and a certain spiky-haired brunette spent every waking moment not filled with fending off Heartless trying to figure out how in God's name the two got along so well. One day, Sora decided to introduce himself to the bubble-gum haired woman, and the reaction he got from her was eerily familiar…

"Hi! I'm Sora!" he said enthusiastically, sticking his hand out in a gesture that asked to shake her hand. She said nothing, simply giving him a strange look that was a cross between offense and confusion; seeing her face, Sora retracted his hand slowly, face heating up a small amount. "Eh heh, sorry if I offended you Miss…?"

"Lightning," was her reply. Short, sweet, to the point, don't-fuck-with-me tone. In fact, a tone quite indeed familiar to Sora, but unfortunately his ADD teenage mind couldn't place it at the moment.

"O-Oh, okay," he stammered out, feeling pretty embarrassed at what had just happened. Having nothing more to say and/or ask her, he smiled before adding, "Well, it was nice meeting you!" before he walked off.

Over the next two weeks or so, the Keyblade Master had noticed that Lightning was very different from the other girls he was staying with. She didn't particularly like staying inside and doing so-called 'womanly' chores like cooking and cleaning: she'd rather be outside kicking someone's ass in an impromptu sparring match. And as Sora watched her hand Leon's ass to him, there was a nagging thought at the back of his mind that told him she reminded him of someone. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, though.

So he observed (not stalked) her, noting the little things she did and trying way too hard to figure out who the hell she reminded him of. He had her down almost entirely: she didn't answer her phone, she didn't talk much, she enjoyed riding motorcycles, she liked to spar, and she preferred to be alone (unless hanging out with Cloud). It wasn't until he had chosen to go gallivanting around town and had happened upon a cliff that he had an epiphany of sorts and the answer smacked him in the face like a pissed off girl. Because he had happened upon Cloud, sitting out on the edge of the cliff and watching the sunset, and he sat down beside him, only to have the blonde's cell phone go off and ruin the peaceful moment. Sora didn't bother to ask whether or not the swordsman was going to answer it, because he knew that he wouldn't, since he never did.

Wait.

Cloud never answered his phone…he didn't talk much either, nor did he much enjoy company…he liked sparring Leon and riding his motorcycle, too.

He sprinted back to where he and the others were staying, never stopping once as he burst through the door, out of breath and flushed from exertion. "I did it! I did it I did it I did it!" he proclaimed, jumping up and down with joy. "I finally figured it out!"

Aerith gave him a warm, motherly smile as she turned toward the overexcited teenage boy making a trampoline of her foyer. "That's great, Sora!" she replied, finishing drying the dish she was holding onto. "So which is it, boys or girls?" she added, believing his excitement to be nailing down his sexuality after the talk they had had a few months prior.

He quickly turned a deep shade of red, his voice raising at least two octaves as he flailed his arms in embarrassment. "Not that!" he screeched defensively, the blush now reaching his neck. "I meant who Lightning reminds me of!" When no one said anything or made a move to try to say anything, Sora continued. "Ever since I met her, I knew that she reminded me of someone! I've been trying to figure out exactly who for the past couple of months: it's Cloud!"

Everybody just stared at him before Yuffie piped up. "Er, is this supposed to be a new finding?" she asked the young teen, fiddling with her jacket. He nodded, and she attempted to hold in a laugh, though it still escaped as a snort. "Dude, we figured it out _that day_. Man, you're slow."

Sora's right palm and his forehead were soon united as one with a resounding smacking noise that rivaled only that of the world's best placed and executed bitchslap.


End file.
